


halcyon

by asakami



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28978734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asakami/pseuds/asakami
Summary: “It’s not often something so beautiful falls on me.”In which a Snowflake Elsa literally falls into the arms of a Cherry Blossom Anna.
Relationships: Anna/Elsa (Disney)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 82





	halcyon

When November ends, she wakes from her slumber.

 _“Have fun out there, Snowflake.”_ Winter tells her as he does, year after year.

She nods, reluctantly, because it scares her to go down. She fears falling. She is afraid of falling down there, for the mortal world is intimidating.

Because even though she always tries her best, it never seems to be enough.

She’s just not well liked.

Winter says that she should try to enjoy herself for a good month or two. Because when it all ends, she has to return to the clouds and wait for her next opportunity. Who knows if it’s cold enough next year? Who knows if Rain decides to overtake her role for the season? Rain is always so bossy, and she’s much too timid to do anything about it. It’s not like the world would end without her presence. She just does as she is told.

Every year, on her first arrival, she puts her heart to it. She creates the best that she can—her utmost effort. The softest, purest of all snowflakes. She can be slightly likeable, can’t she?

And when she falls into a park where children are playing, their looks of surprise and happiness put a smile on her face.

* * *

For a bit, she is appreciated.

In the middle of December, she decorates rooftops, yards, and the evergreen trees. It makes everyone so happy to see her, and it makes her just as glad that she’s bringing so much joy to them.

She never thinks of herself as beautiful, but when children spread their arms to welcome her in their embrace, when people stop to admire the intricate designs of her snowflakes that fall from the sky, it’s fulfilling.

Maybe this is what it feels like to be loved.

* * *

But she is temporary.

Happiness to her only lasts until January. By then, she isn’t so loved anymore. It’s around the same time that she thinks she’s had enough – she just wants to go home.

By then, all she hears are curses. Drivers complaining that all she does is freeze the road, get people sick. Pedestrians walking along the sidewalks would say that she’s a hazard – that all she does is hurt people.

All she does is bring the cold.

She wraps her arms around her body.

“I’m so sorry…” she wishes that her apology could reach their ears. 

A car drives by her; its tires slosh along the snow that has mixed with dirt and grime and muck. Her usual pure, white colour is tainted grey, black, and brown.

She grimaces at the sight. This is why she never thinks that she is beautiful.

She hugs herself tighter.

It hurts so much to melt.

* * *

February arrives. Rain replaces her; he comes down aggressively, erasing any traces of her, and despite the pain, she is relieved that she is finally allowed to go back.

 _“Did you enjoy yourself this year, Snowflake?”_ Winter asks, ever so kindly.

Head down, she fiddles with her fingers. “It was okay,” is her answer every time.

It never changes.

She returns to her chambers and closes her eyes.

Maybe it’ll be better next year.

* * *

She stirs awake at the end of March. It is strange, it feels different, because the clouds are thinner, and the air is warmer. But she feels so awake – refreshed. On such a rare opportunity, she steps out.

 _“Ah, Snowflake,”_ Winter greets her with his kind yet commanding voice. _“Have you slept well?”_

She rubs her eyes and then brings her hands to her chest, clutching them there nervously. “I… is it time for me to go down?” 

Winter smiles. _“No, not yet. But would you like to?”_

She tilts her head, confused.

 _“Just for a bit.”_ Winter says softly. _“I can allow you some time, so do have fun!”_

Before she can answer, she is already falling through the clouds – through a blur of white.

* * *

She falls into a pair of arms. A stranger’s arms. 

But what she realizes before that is the fact that her landing is soft. Impossibly so. And it’s warm, but not to the point that she’d melt away. It’s a temporary sensation that pours into her skin and is strangely comforting. It’s comforting, because she and warmth do not mix. But being able to take in such a feeling in that tiny fraction of a second soothes her. 

“Um… hello.” The stranger greets with a shy voice. 

Snowflake blinks. And then a gasp—“I-I’m so sorry!” she shirks and backs away, creating as much distance from the stranger as possible. 

But the stranger giggles. A rich and lovely sound. “No worries!” she grins, pearly white teeth come into view and it’s so, so charming. “It’s not often something so beautiful falls on me.”

At that, Snowflake experiences something she has never once imagined is possible; her cheeks grow warm. It’s the aforementioned sensation – when she fell into the stranger’s arms, it’s comforting, soothing – _strange._ Nervous, she tucks a strand of hair behind an ear and swallows. Her chest tightens and the warmth intensifies. Not in an unpleasant way but, just, foreign. 

It’s foreign, but it feels nice.

Snowflake gathers the courage to look up from her feet. It is then she notices—the stranger is very… pink? It’s a soft, _quiet_ pink. As pink as she herself is white. And now, she’s looking into deep pools of teal, clear as crystal, surrounding a beautiful blackness that reflects her curious expression. 

This stranger is still. Like she’s waiting. The pinkness gradually recedes, and human features begin to show; fiery red hair comes into view, its vibrant colour moves with the gentle breeze. Soon, the only shade of pink remaining is the one present on her cheeks, accentuating the dusting of freckles that decorate the canvas of her face. 

And Snowflake just watches, captivated. Mesmerized.

“You’re…”

“You—”

They stop, snapping their mouths shut.

“I’m sorry, y-you can go first.” Snowflake stammers.

“No, no,” the stranger waves her hands, “You go ahead. I’m just, uh, um. I don’t even remember what I was going to say.”

The redhead’s giggle rings in Snowflake’s ear, and gradually – very, very slowly, she feels herself becoming less tensed. Her hands are no longer clenched, and she isn’t scrunching her shoulders up to her ear. 

“To be honest, I don’t remember what I wanted to say, either.”

A moment, and then the redhead is the first to laugh. Snowflake, ever so cautious, eventually follows suit. Then, feeling comfortable enough, she, too, begins to recede the shade that protects her – which, in her case, is white. Her hair turns platinum blonde, and her skin becomes less pale. Much like the stranger’s, but not as tanned.

When she is done, she looks towards the stranger who is just smiling. An innocent, simple little smile that triggers a warmth – making it spread to her chest, pulse through her veins to the rest of her body. 

She feels as though she will melt, but she holds on.

Because for the first time, it doesn’t hurt.

* * *

She learns that the stranger is Cherry Blossom. A phenomenon that occurs during spring. Said phenomenon also explains that she likes to go by _Anna._

“You have a human name?”

Anna shrugs. “ _Cherry Blossom_ is too long. I wanted something simple, so I gave myself this! But I still wanted to be unique, so it’s _ah-na_ and not _an-na._ It’s a huge difference!”

Snowflakes blinks. Too much information to process. First and foremost, she had always thought that Cherry Blossom would be quieter. Passive. Like Wind when he’s calm. Not so bubbly. 

“You should get a human name too!” Anna says it so matter-of-factly, like it’s the most natural thing to discuss in the world. “You should have something unique as well. Not that _Snowflake_ isn’t a nice name, but since we’re down here, we might as well have fun. Adapt! Fit in!” she flails her arms, like she’s dancing. 

Snowflake wouldn’t know; she doesn’t dance. But this is probably what dancing is like.

“So, what d’you say?” 

“I…” she hesitates. Snowflake doesn’t really know how to respond.

“Oh, I’ll give you a name! You definitely need something… hmm, feminine? Ooh! And beautiful! Ugh—what’s the word I’m looking for?!”

At this point, she’s just letting Anna monologue. 

“Elegant. Yes! We’ll give you something elegant. El—Elizabeth? No, too long. El… Ellie? Nah, too cute. N-not that you’re not cute. I mean, you’re adorable, but, erm, I gotta stop rambling. Um, anyway,” she swallows. “El… El… something… else. Else. Elsa!” 

The redhead grabs her hands.

“You can be _Elsa_! It’s a nice name, right?”

She can only blink; her eyelids flutter rapidly as she tries to swallow the lump of nervousness down her throat. “Um… I-I guess so…?”

“Okay, then. It’s settled! I’m Anna, and you’re Elsa,” her smile radiates their surroundings. 

It makes the sun, its rays pouring through the cherry blossoms of the trees more radiant, brighter; it makes the pink petals glow in an opaque light. Everything is fuzzy but highlighted. Beautifully so. The pink blends in with the white, the white blurs together with the pink. And the snowflakes that continue to fall from the skies blanket across the fields. They wrap around Anna snugly, protectively.

Snowflake – or, well, _Elsa_ now – feels the corner of her lips tugging upwards.

* * *

“How long do you stay down here, Elsa?”

“Until spring arrives, usually,” she answers.

“But… it’s spring now. And you’re here.”

Elsa nods. “Winter told me to come down. He didn’t even give me time to ask questions. One day, I woke up, and the next thing I know, I’m here.”

Anna hums in response. She looks to the open sky, where the snow continues to fall in thick, chunky pieces and she reaches a hand out to catch one effortlessly. It just falls into her palm. “You really are beautiful, you know that?”

Carefully, so as to not disturb the world, Elsa watches Anna’s actions. She watches as the snowflake melting into a tiny droplet of water, and any semblance of peace fades away. Elsa starts fiddling with the end of her braid. “Only temporarily.”

Anna breathes out. It sounds like a sigh. She takes Elsa’s hand, guiding it up to a branch of a cherry tree. She lets the blonde’s fingers brush across the petals of a cherry blossom flower.

Elsa allows herself to be guided. The sensation of her skin against the softness of Anna’s flowers is strange and new – akin to the very notion of being down here in spring. Anna is delicate, as though she knows that if she applied a fraction more of her strength, it would hurt Elsa.

“Which makes you that much more precious.”

Elsa looks at her. Deep into the colours of Anna.

She wonders if Cherry Blossom understands what it’s like to melt. What it’s like to hurt the way she does. Year after year, no change, whatsoever.

* * *

“Humans are so silly.”

Elsa quirks a curious brow.

Anna points at a man and woman sitting on a bench, right beneath the tree they have climbed. The two are snuggled together, even though moments before, they were in a dispute of some sort. “Did you hear what they were arguing about?”

Timidly, she shakes her head. “I’m sorry. I overheard it, but I did not quite understand.”

Anna smiles. “It was over what to eat. The guy wanted to make food at home, and the girl wanted to go out. Something like that.”

Elsa, on her part, has absolutely no idea what any of that means. Or, to be more precise, she gets it – humans need to eat in order to survive, unlike themselves, but what is so important about where it is that they eat?

“You look confused.”

Elsa fiddles with her fingers. “I… yes. I do not understand the point to their argument.”

“That’s exactly what I mean!” Anna exclaims. She grabs onto Elsa’s arm – yet another burst of warmth – “Humans do such silly things! Always getting caught up by moments like this. Every year I come down here, I see the same thing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve overheard this kind of argument. _Ooh, I don’t want to watch that movie! Ooh, why didn’t you buy me that bag when I asked?_ ” She pauses. “… Don’t you come across these conversations, Elsa?”

She shakes her head again. “When I come down, I try to avoid going near humans,” Elsa lowers her head, just as she lowers her voice, “… I tend to hurt people when I’m too close.”

“Oh,” comes Anna’s answer.

There she goes again. Elsa turns away, as if ashamed that she has, as she always does, ruined the mood. Anna has been nothing but friendly. Her optimism shines through the thickest clouds, having the ability to penetrate the cold, yet Elsa can still somehow ruin it.

But then – a warm sensation on her hand – Elsa looks back, and she meets Anna’s bright, blue-green gaze. Life swirls in those orbs, and Elsa is drawn in. She cannot look away.

How wonderful it must be to have life? To have colour?

“Then,” Anna speaks.

Elsa stiffens.

“It’s a good thing I’m not a human.”

Her eyelids flutter.

Anna grins, pearly white teeth matching the pinkness to her cheeks as brilliantly as the falling snow and cherry blossom petals. Anna reaches out, snapping a delicate twig from its branch. A few of her cherry blossom flowers grow upon it – a delightful ornament – and Anna slips it into Elsa’s hair, right above her ear.

“So I think you will never hurt me.”

The warmth returns.

Elsa’s heart pounds ever harder, and she feels herself melting for all the different reasons.

* * *

Perhaps it is due to the influence of Anna, but Elsa has found herself approaching humans more often lately. Whether it is to learn from them, or to simply observe their odd behaviours, Elsa discovers a hint of joy when doing it.

And amongst one of the most important things that she has learned from humans thus far, is the happiness of receiving a gift.

A box of chocolate, a wrapped present, a bouquet of flowers.

Elsa touches the cherry blossoms in her hair and smiles.

What Anna has given her is priceless. A piece of herself – of Anna. Every time she thinks about it, her heart swells. It equates to the feeling of her first arrival upon the land. Of seeing children running about, catching her in their knitted mittens. Of the slow, gradual process in which she blankets the world.

An incomparable joy, and Elsa wants Anna to feel the same. It is a sensation worth sharing.

She wanders under the trees, still thoroughly mesmerized by how seamlessly pink and white blend so well together. Elsa comes across a small pond, where she sees a clear reflection of herself. The cherry blossom flowers in her hair blend just as well. Elsa giggles and reaches up, gently brushing her fingertips against the delicate petals.

It is as soft as fresh, powdered snow. The creation of all her excitement and happiness accumulated from a long slumber. The anticipation to come down to be loved. A pure, untainted side of herself that comes right from her heart.

_Oh._

That’s it!

Elsa hitches her breath. She knows what to give Anna!

* * *

She knows what to give her. The problem is, she doesn’t know _how._

“Elsa?”

She tenses.

“What’s the matter? You’re so quiet today. Well, I mean – you’re always quiet, but… you’re quieter than usual and that’s not necessarily a bad thing but, like. Um. Is everything okay?”

Elsa brings her fingers together – a habit that she does when she’s nervous. She cradles a hand in the other, then alternates. She does this again and again, wondering if such an action makes Anna feel uncomfortable. But she doesn’t want to know, so she doesn’t look. She keeps her head down.

“Helloooo! Anyone there?” Anna bends down to look up at her.

Elsa jolts. She brings her hands closer, right at her chest. “I… ah—Anna, I…”

“Hm?”

Baring her teeth, Elsa pushes herself. Try harder. “May I give you something?”

In an instant, Anna’s eyes light up. “Y-you want to… oh, yes! Yes, of course!” She squeals, ecstatic. “What are you giving me? I—oh, I’ve never received a present before!”

A beautiful sight. Anna is very much like those children she encounters on the playgrounds. Embodying nothing but happiness – simplicity at its finest. “Give me your hand.”

Anna grins. Perhaps she is a bit too eager, otherwise Elsa would argue that she is really bad at following instructions. What Anna does instead is spread her arms – exactly like the children who welcome Elsa at first snow, as if she is welcoming her in for a hug.

It makes her giggle, of course, and Elsa, distracted, feels yet another surge of warmth. It shoots straight from her chest out. It’s the thrill that runs through her when she first falls through the clouds. An unparalleled sense of excitement. It’s the happiest she can – _ever –_ feel. Which is precisely why it’s so important to her.

And right now, she feels it.

Elsa takes Anna’s hand with both of her own, moving it to her cheek.

What she notices is in that instant, in that split second, Anna turns pink – almost as pink as the first time Elsa’s seen her. There is a slight hesitation, like Anna doesn’t want to move, but to be frank, neither does Elsa. The warmth of Anna’s palm against her cheek. _Oh,_ it… it’s so nice. She doesn’t want this to end.

“Elsa…?”

She jolts, embarrassed to know that she’s spaced out for a second. Elsa smiles sheepishly as a form of apology, and then she moves Anna’s hand lower, right above her chest. Right above her heart.

“Elsa, what are you—”

Closing her eyes, Elsa focuses. A faint light is aglow, surrounding them protectively and she hears Anna gasp. A sound of surprise, a sound that – if she dares – likely is the one that she herself made when Anna placed that ornament in her hair. It’s the sound that people make when they receive gifts, and just as Elsa wanted to believe, it makes her happy. But as all pleasant things go, the light soon fades, and they are wrapped in the brightness that is the white of her snow and the pink of Anna’s cherry blossoms once more. Elsa closes Anna’s hand in a loose fist, letting her draw it back to herself.

Slowly, Anna opens it.

Elsa is alert. She studies Anna’s face, hopeful. The previous excitement spirals into a whirlwind of emotions. Is it fear? Anxiety? Goodness, she knows for a fact that there is a sliver of joy. Because if Anna doesn’t like this gift, it’s okay. If she doesn’t like it, she’ll think of something else. She wants Anna to feel what she felt. Just—

“Wow…” Anna whispers. Her eyes gleam with the object floating in her palm.

“This is, ah, um.” Elsa swallows. “I-it’s what I want to give you.”

The redhead’s teal eyes widen slightly.

Elsa glances at the tiny piece of snowflake – the deep blue of its ice illuminating. It hovers above Anna’s hand, shining, as bright as it is clear. Hm. Now that she looks at it, Elsa’s never known how much it resembled the little fairy lights that she sees at those Christmas festivals. She never knew she could shine.

“Elsa, it—you’ve…” Anna’s voice is small – the smallest Elsa has ever heard from her. Delicate and careful, like how she’s holding the snowflake.

She doesn’t want to scare Anna. So before she can stop herself, Elsa starts to reason, “I’m so sorry, Anna,” she says. “I don’t… my snow is nowhere as beautiful as your flowers, nor do they last. This—um. This is the only part of me that does not melt.”

Oddly, Anna’s cheeks redden even more, matching the colour of her hair at this point. “Your heart,” her voice comes out in a bare whisper. “You gave me your heart?”

Elsa takes a moment to observe. Just to read Anna’s reaction. Is she happy? Does she like it? Goodness, she doesn’t know. She sincerely hopes that she did okay. And so, she nods. Bobbing her head is all that she can do.

What occurs next is a blur. Mostly because Elsa doesn’t know how to deal with such a situation. After all, nobody’s ever looked at her in such a way before.

A way that is genuine, simple, and so, _so_ full of life. Because Anna’s eyes, as fascinating as they are, gleam – sparkling more so than usual with the light of her heart so close by. The colours in those orbs swirl again, and Elsa will never tire of such beauty. Flecks of blue and green, and perhaps a hint of gold, just shining.

Elsa is lost. Frozen in this dimension that Anna has taken her to, and she does not think that it is possible to pull herself out of it. So when Anna speaks, it takes her a second to gather herself.

“Do you know what it means when humans give their hearts to someone?”

Elsa blinks. No, she does not.

Anna smiles, as though she heard what Elsa’s thinking. “They’re so are weird,” she says, and Elsa notes that it sounds familiar.

Anna takes a step forward.

“They make up the strangest things to represent even stranger things.”

She blinks again, but the sudden closeness between them makes her blush. Elsa feels a familiar heat building from her chest up her neck.

“But…”

Another step.

“… I do know what _this_ means.”

She’s so close, Elsa can feel her cool breath against her cheek. “Anna—”

Then, the redhead tiptoes. Her lips touch her cheek.

Elsa gasps.

The heat shoots right up to her head and Elsa swears that smoke is coming out of her head. _Smoke!_ Coming out of _Snowflake’s_ head! The place where Anna’s touched her with her lips burns in a fiery – yet not completely uncomfortable – sensation. In fact, if Elsa can get past the white lights pulsing in her vision, she would admit that it feels pleasant.

Still. She needs to ask. Because everything is so foreign. So strange.

“What…” Elsa touches her cheek, “… what was that?”

“Pretty sure it’s called a ‘kiss’.” Anna says, thoughtful. She tries to play it cool, but her face flushed. Dare Elsa say, as flushed as her own. “I, um. I see humans do it when they want to thank others. A-and I wanted to thank you.”

Elsa dips her head. “I just…” she tries, her voice barely audible, “… wanted to give you something in return.” Elsa brings a hand up to touch the flowers. It’s soothing. They bring her into a state of trance, which is something that Elsa desperately seeks at the moment.

“Oh, come on,” Anna giggles. “What I gave you can’t be compared to this!” She gestures at the glowing snowflake.

“But I like it,” Elsa states.

The redhead stills. She remains quiet, as if encouraging Elsa to continue.

“It’s precious to me,” she goes on, stroking the flowers in her head, gentle with her touch. “I’m going to keep this forever.”

At that, Anna actively darts her eyes away. She’s wearing this goofy smile – like she wants to grin but is trying hard to suppress it. She chews at her lower lip, scrunches her shoulders and shifts her weight from side to side.

It’s an endearing sight. Elsa finds it adorable. She finds _Anna_ adorable.

“A-and I… uh,” Anna stammers for her words. She’s still smiling uncontrollably, and her cheeks are still as red as her hair! “I hope to keep your heart forever as well. I-if I may, that is.”

Elsa can’t hold back her giggle. “Of course you may, silly.”

Anna grins, this time much wider, and then she clasps onto the snowflake. The protective gesture warms up Elsa’s heart and she thinks this has everything to do with her new friend.

* * *

By April, Elsa knows that she enjoys spring.

Mostly because she’s found a new friend, but there’s just more colour, and she really likes that. It’s not monochromatic; it’s not just white and grey; the trees are not barren, and the grass glows in a different, livelier shade of green.

Spring is beautiful, and if she may, Elsa believes that she blends into this landscape quite naturally.

Perhaps as naturally as how her and Anna’s friendship blossomed.

There are moments where she wonders if she can stay. Continue to cover the earth in her blanket of white. Continue to observe these new colours. For once, the land isn’t monochromatic; it isn’t barren – it’s not just white and grey – the sky is bluer, the greens of the trees and leaves are livelier, and everything glows.

The people, the atmosphere, _Anna._

Her blossoms, like Elsa’s snow, are falling together. A beautiful sight – because Elsa has never seen pink snow before. The ground that supports her is not her snow alone, it’s Anna. She’s here with her, and Elsa finds that to be beautiful.

But it is as beautiful as it is worrying.

Because the temperature is getting warmer. She is still falling from the clouds, which is why she remains in the world, but she is melting away.

Her time is almost up.

When she lands on the concrete pavements, she no longer sticks. When she lands on the foliage of the trees, she becomes droplets of water – an afterthought. 

Elsa follows a single piece of herself as it falls onto the ground she stands upon. Watches as it dissolves into nothing. She raises her head and searches for yet another falling piece of herself, but what catches her attention this time is a falling piece of petal. A piece of _Anna,_ fluttering down, playful – like it refuses to land.

The pain – akin to that of the one she feels when she melts at the end of winter – hits her harder and harder as the days go by.

 _Her_ time is almost up.

The pink on the trees is fading. Day by day, more petals fall, and day by day, she sees Anna less and less. Anna, radiating with such insatiable energy, is starting to show weariness. She wakes later in the day – when the sun hangs high, and she retreats, before evening arrives.

“Is everything okay?” Elsa asks her the same thing each day.

A yawn for every response. What follows is a charming comment, “I wasn’t this morning. But seeing you made everything better,” or, “If you’d let me hang out with you for the day, then I’d be.”

It makes Elsa blush, and, embarrassed as she is, she likes how Anna can make her feel such a way.

Because yes, she likes spring, but she likes Anna more.

Admitting to this makes her chest strain. The thought, lingering in her mind, pulses. It echoes.

“Anna.”

She fears what will happen when all the petals have fallen. As much as Elsa can understand, Spring is like Winter. He comes and goes as the seasons wish, but unlike her snow that falls endlessly so long as the temperature permits, the petals on the trees are finite. They will run out. By then, Anna will…

The _pulsing_ becomes a sting.

She reaches to touch the flowers in her hair, and her heart nearly drops when she realizes that most of them are gone. The beautiful pink petals, much like the ones on the trees – fallen. There is but a barren twig resting on her ear.

Is this her doing? Is it because it’s too cold? Oh, gosh, it has to be. Maybe Anna is supposed to stay longer but can’t because… because Elsa’s the reason. It’s her fault. It always is. She looks around, frantic, and sees that the white of her snow has created a thick blanket – it has robbed the world from the heat that it deserves. There is barely any pink, and Elsa fears that she may be hurting others again.

She may be hurting Anna.

Elsa searches and searches.

The sun is setting, and Anna still has not awoken. Elsa has not seen her for the entire day, so she searches. She visits the benches of the park where Anna likes to rest, the playgrounds where Anna finds joy running around in, even the branches of the tallest trees that Anna has taught her to climb, everything. But, nothing. She’s nowhere.

“Anna…”

The pinkness in the sky falls thicker.

“Behind you, Snowflake.”

Elsa whips her head around. The frown she doesn’t know she’s been wearing is immediately replaced with a grin. “Anna! Where have you been?” she runs to the redhead, taking her hands into her own.

“Oh, y’know,” Anna shows off her signature grin. “The usual. Work hard, party hard, sleep even harder.”

Something is wrong. The vibrance that accompanies Anna is faint – her voice, tired, and her hands lack the warmth that Elsa’s grown to like.

She gets right to the point. No time to stall. “You’re disappearing.”

Anna’s smile does not falter.

Elsa grips onto Anna’s hands, and the latter returns the gesture, tightening her grip as if afraid that Elsa would let go.

“Walk with me?” she asks.

There is no hesitation. Elsa nods.

* * *

The Cherry Blossom whom Snowflake met on the first day was energetic, happy, and vibrant with all that she does, all that she is.

The Cherry Blossom whom Snowflake is with today is quiet, weary – her colours dull but is still so, so happy.

She is tired, but she carries on. Anna tells Elsa a joke she’s picked up from the humans. Something about chocolate fondue? She’s not sure; Elsa’s attention is elsewhere, for she is trying to keep Anna steady.

“Elsa?”

“Yes?” she responds in an instant.

Anna’s grin is crooked – forced. “Can we sit for a bit? My legs are kinda wobbly…”

“Yes, of course,” Elsa says before Anna can finish. She takes her to one of those park benches, and when they sit down, Anna’s body slouches to her own. Elsa adjusts, lending Anna her shoulder and she holds her tight in her arms. Anna is weightless, and Elsa fears that if she doesn’t hold on tight, Wind will take her away.

“You’re very warm,” Anna murmurs, her voice layered with fatigue.

Elsa tries to respond in kind. Stay positive. It will make Anna happy. “That is the last thing others say about me.”

“No, but you are.” She protests. Anna snuggles closer, her face in Elsa’s neck, breath tickling the blonde’s skin as she continues. “I’ve been down here a lot, y’know? I know how warmth is like. I know the sun, the changing weather, the approach of summer.” She pauses to look up, right into Elsa’s eyes.

Her grip on Anna tightens. Somehow, those words sting. No – they burn. Elsa clenches her jaw to suppress a sob.

“But I know when my time is up.”

“It—” Elsa’s voice trembles, but she pushes through, “—it’s because of me, isn’t it? I’m… it’s too cold, and it’s hurting you—”

“Elsa.”

She stops.

Anna prolongs that smile of hers. “… I wither away within a few weeks, just like how you would melt when the season changes.”

The sting returns. Elsa fights the urge to shut her eyes. She can’t look away. Not now. Not when this delicate connection with Anna is about to be severed. “D-does it hurt?”

That smile widens. “Yes,” Anna whispers. “It hurts to fall. It hurts when the pink fades. It _especially_ hurts when people groan about how I make the roads all gross, but hey,”

Elsa feels Anna’s soft hand, cupping her cheek.

“At least I had fun.”

Anna strokes along her skin, fingertips caressing lightly and Elsa just breathes.

“And there’s always next year,” Anna says.

Snowflakes and cherry blossom petals continue to fall around them. In her peripherals, all Elsa sees is a blur of white, kind of what she sees when she’s falling through the clouds in the beginning of winter. Except now, there is a hint of pink. The colour mixes with her, and her fear of falling isn’t so bad anymore when she knows that Anna is by her side. Yes, Anna is falling with her, and Elsa realizes – she isn’t as scared.

“Will I ever see you again?” Elsa hears herself ask.

At that, Anna sits up. Slowly, she draws back, and Elsa sees that her healthy skin tone has reverted back to that of the cherry blossom pink – like when she first fell into her arms.

Elsa pays attention to every bit of detail from here on. She observes, blue eyes gazing as Anna looks at the twig slipped behind her ear. It is a sweet, tender moment.

“Well,” Anna starts, bringing in life as she speaks. She takes Elsa’s hand, this time being the one to guide her.

Warmth and happiness and a swirl of emotions – Anna does this to her every single time. She may be blushing again, and It is only when her hand is resting on top of Anna’s heart that she breaks out of her reverie.

“You’ll always have me with you,” she grins. “Unless… you decide to throw me away?”

“I—” Elsa gasps, “—I would never do that!”

“I know, I know,” Anna laughs. Then, as the joyous sound dies down, she holds onto Elsa’s hand, tight. Pressing it upon her chest, she tells her tenderly, “… And I, um. I-I’ll remember you. I’ll remember you with everything that I have.”

Elsa tugs onto her lower lip.

“I—I’ll try to arrive earlier next year—maybe I’ll catch a glimpse of you? Just a bit is enough for me,” Anna stammers. “I hope that’s okay with you, I don’t want to come off as annoying, but I like you. A lot. And I just…”

“Anna.”

“Sorry.” She mumbles. “I just… I like you a lot. I wanted to tell you that, at the very least.”

The swirl of emotions swells. Like fireworks. Elsa knows she isn’t hallucinating when a blue light between them glows – it’s her light. Her _own_ light. It glows within Anna, and for whatever reason, Elsa feels the need to reciprocate. To show something, _do_ something. To show her appreciation, her reverence.

For Anna.

Because this is probably how it feels like to be loved.

“Elsa…?”

Which is why this time, the kiss this time is on the lips, and before Elsa is pulled back through the clouds, before Anna disappears into the wind, she captures the warmth between them and holds it close to her heart.

“I like you a lot, too.”

* * *

 _“Spring is quite different, isn’t it, Snowflake?”_ Winter greets her as per usual, his kind voice rings gently in her ears. _“Did you have fun?”_

The corners of Elsa’s lips are tugged upwards. She pushes a strand of hair behind her ear, and in the process, she brushes her fingers along that Cherry Blossom twig. She feels that familiar swell in her heart as it leaps. There is a rush that runs up to her cheeks and Elsa is quite sure that she is tinted in that pink colour that she has grown to love.

“I…” Elsa says, “I did.”

Winter smiles.

She is expected to return to her chambers. This time, for sure, she must sleep through the rest of the seasons before she returns to the mortal world once more.

Come next winter, she will wake to be more beautiful. She will cover the world for as much as she can – she will shine as she now knows that she capable, and she will enjoy every moment of it when she is down there.

And maybe, if time permits, maybe if she waits long enough, she will see her again.

**Author's Note:**

> i really just wanted to write about them kissing innocently but wow look how weird it got :^)
> 
> i'll come back to fix it one day, but i'm just happy that i finally got one one-shot out lmao


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